Comment Form:
Proposed Board Regulation on Professional
Misconduct
Introduction
The College is inviting public comments on a proposed Board regulation related to the following
matter:

Defining professional misconduct for the purposes of the Ontario College of Trades’ complaints
and discipline process.
The deadline for the receipt of comments is December 3, 2012.
We’re here to help!
Problem or question? Send us an email at consultations@collegeoftrades.ca or give us a call at
(647) 847-3000 or toll free at 1-855-299-0028.
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Terms of Use
Please note that the feedback you provide as part of this Consultation, whether sent by postal mail,
fax, email or through the Ontario College of Trades (the College) website, becomes part of a publicly
accessible file and will be posted on the College website. This information will include your full name,
city/town, province, occupation, and organizational affiliation (please refer below to Option 1).
However, the College will not disclose information such as your email address, postal/street address,
telephone and fax number(s). Upon your request, the College will withhold your name from the
publicly accessible file (please refer below to Option 2).
Documents received electronically or otherwise will be put on the College website in their entirety
exactly as you send them in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents
not received electronically will be available in PDF format. The College reserves the right not to display
or use any feedback or other materials that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, abusive, inflammatory,
harmful, or otherwise objectionable, or that would violate the rights of any party.
You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary licenses, rights, consents or permissions
required under applicable law, including copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and privacy and
publicity rights, to authorize the College to display, copy and use all feedback or other materials
provided by you to the College. The personal information you provide will be used for the purpose for
which the information was obtained or compiled by the Ontario College of Trades including the
development of regulations under the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act.
Option 1: I agree to the Terms of Use
Option 2: I agree to the Terms of Use, but request that my name not be publicly accessible
Option 3: I do not agree to the Terms of Use
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Saving your comments
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the form, click on the ‘save’ button on your toolbar. Choose the location to which you would like to
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We’re here to help!
Problem or question? Send us an email at consultations@collegeoftrades.ca or give us a call at
(647) 847-3000 or toll free at 1-855-299-0028.
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Individual Submissions
First Name
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Street Address
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City / Town
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Province
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Telephone
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Email Address (optional)
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Organizational Affiliation
(if any)
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Check this box to receive updates from the Ontario College of Trades
I am a/an (select all that apply):
Apprentice (hold a valid registered training agreement)
Journeyperson (hold a valid certificate of qualification)
Skilled Tradesworker (do not hold a certificate of qualification)
Student in a trades-related program (e.g. OYAP, vocational school, pre-apprenticeship program)
Parent / guardian of a student in a trades-related program
Other, please specify: Click here to enter text
Trade (s) – please list all that apply: Click here to enter text
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Association / Organization / Company Submissions – You are authorized to
represent and make comments on behalf of an association or company
First Name
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Association/
Organization/
Company Name
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Province
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Postal Code
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Telephone
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Check this box to receive updates from the Ontario College of Trades
(Continued on next page)
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(Continued from previous page)
Please tell us more about your association / organization / company:
Number of individuals your
association/organization/company
employs/sponsors/represents
Apprentice(s)
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Journeyperson(s)
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Skilled tradesworker (do not hold a certificate of
qualification)
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Total number of employees/members your
association/company employs or represents
(including the categories above)
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Trade (s) associated with your association / organization / company – please list all that apply:
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Proposed Regulation: Definition of Professional Misconduct
Section 1. The following acts are defined as professional misconduct for the purposes of subsection
46(2)(c) of the Act:
Q: What is professional misconduct?
A: Professional misconduct is normally used to describe any acts or actions that may intentionally
violate the ethical or practice standards of a trade, or that may discredit or damage the reputation of a
trade.
Q: Why is this regulation being proposed?
A: Once the College is fully operational, any person will be able to complain to the College about the
conduct of any of its members. If a written complaint is filed, and the complaint is about “professional
misconduct,” “incompetence” or “incapacity,” the College will have the responsibility to:

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consider and investigate the allegations;
determine if a hearing is required;
make a decision; and/or
discipline the member when appropriate (see section 44 of the Ontario College of Trades and
Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (OCTAA)).
However, because OCTAA does not have a complete definition of professional misconduct, the
College’s Board of Governors (Board) must define professional misconduct in a regulation. This
regulation will make it possible for members of the College to know what they are not allowed to do.
Members of the public will know what to expect from a member of the College, and the College will be
able to decide if a member is guilty of professional misconduct (see section 46(2)(c) of OCTAA).
The proposed Board regulation includes 16 acts or actions that would fall under the definition of
professional misconduct.
Q: Who would this proposed regulation apply to?
A: It would apply to all members of the College in any one of the College’s membership classes.
Q: Why would the College receive and investigate complaints against its members?
A: Section 10 of OCTAA states that the College has a duty to serve and protect the public interest. This
is an important part of the College’s role as a self-regulating professional body for Ontario’s 157 trades.
In order to do this, the College must have an effective complaints and discipline process in place that is
accessible to the public.
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Q: Is the College’s complaints and discipline process typical?
A: Yes, it is. Almost every self-regulating professional body in Ontario has an obligation to have a
complaints and discipline process in place to make sure that the public interest is protected. This
process (which requires having a professional misconduct regulation) allows members of the public to
complain against members of the College, and makes it possible for the College to receive and
investigate those complaints, and decide if the member did anything wrong (in which case discipline
would be needed).
Q: How does the College intend to use the Proposed Regulation?
A: The proposed regulation will be used to communicate to the College’s members and to the public
at large what a tradesperson is not allowed to do when conducting business and doing work. The
proposed regulation will be used from beginning to end of the complaints and discipline process.
Q: What will the complaints and discipline process look like?
A: Once the College is fully operational, if a person wishes to complain against a member, he or she
must file a complaint in writing with the College. If the complaint is about professional misconduct, it
will have to fall under any of the acts defined as professional misconduct in the proposed regulation or
in OCTAA. In addition, the complaint must be serious (not “frivolous”), not meant to harass a member,
and cannot be an abuse of process (this is outlined in section 44 of OCTAA).
If the complaint meets these requirements, the College’s Complaints Committee will then investigate
the complaint. As part of this investigation, the Complaints Committee has an obligation to notify the
member of the complaint and inform him or her about the allegations so that the member can defend
him or herself. If the Complaints Committee finds that there may have been professional misconduct, it
may send the complaint to the Discipline Committee for a hearing and decision. The member can
appeal the Discipline Committee’s decision to the College or to the courts (this is outlined in sections
44 to 46, and 49 to 51 of OCTAA).
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #1
1.
Failing to take reasonable steps to safeguard the life, health or property of a person
who may be affected by the work of a member or any person for whom the member is
responsible, when the member knew or ought to have known that there was a risk to life,
health or property.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: While doing their work, members of the College have an obligation to care for the life, health or
property of others, and are required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent any accidents. This
obligation also applies when a member is supervising the work of an employee/apprentice. The
obligation only applies if the member knew (or should have known) that there was a risk to the life,
health or property of others.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to protect anyone
whose life, health or property may be affected by the work of a member of the College. As a selfregulating body, the College has a duty to ensure that its members are careful in their work and that
they protect the public in a proactive way. Including this act will help the College deal with conduct on
the part of its members that threatens the life, health or property of a member/members of the public.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #2
2.
Failure to act to correct or report a situation that the member believes may endanger
the safety or welfare of the public.
Q: What does this act mean?
While working, a member of the College must try and fix or report a situation where they believe the
safety or well-being of a member/members of the public may be in danger.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to protect the
safety and well-being of the public and make members of the College responsible for protecting them,
in a proactive way, during the course of their work. A member only commits this act if he or she is able
to identify the dangerous situation (based on the member’s training, experience and competence), and
believes (in good faith) that the situation is dangerous to the public, but does not do anything about it.
As a self-regulating body, the College has a duty to ensure that its members are careful in their work
and that they protect the public in a proactive way. By defining this act, the College will be able to deal
with conduct on the part of its members that threatens the safety or well-being of a
member/members of the public.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #3
3.
Undertaking work that the member knows or ought to have known is not competent
to perform by virtue of the member’s certification, training and experience, or that of the
member’s employees.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: Members of the College are not allowed to take on work that they know (or should have known)
they or their employees are not competent to do because: (a) they are not certified to do the work, (b)
they are not trained to do the work, and/or (c) they do not have enough experience to do the work. A
member is not competent when he or she does not have the necessary knowledge, skill or judgment to
do the work of the trade.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: Members are expected to only take on work of a trade that they can do because they have the
necessary certification, training and experience to do it, and to know when they are out of their depth.
Defining this act as professional misconduct will help to ensure that a client is not paying for work that
they believe the member can do when in fact the member is not qualified or competent to do it.
Defining this act will also help to prevent accidents that could have been prevented if the member had
not taken on work that he or she knew was not competent to do.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #4
4.
Accepting fraudulent compensation in any form for a particular service.
Q: What does this act mean?
A member of the College cannot accept fraudulent payment for a particular service. It does not matter
if the fraudulent payment accepted is made in money or in kind.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to prevent
situations where clients may be paying for a service without knowing that the charges are fraudulent.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #5
5.
Providing false information or documents to the College or any other person with
respect to a member’s trade qualifications.
Q: What does this act mean?
Members of the College are not permitted to give false information or documents about their
qualifications in a trade, or about the qualifications of their employees and apprentices, to either the
College or any other person. Lying or falsifying any documents about a member’s qualifications is
strictly prohibited.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: A member of the College is expected to tell the truth and to act honestly and with integrity. All
documents and records about a member’s qualifications in a trade are to be completed honestly and
accurately and must not be falsified. This rule applies to all members of the College in all of its
membership classes, and covers any interaction between contractors (employers) and members of the
public, and between apprentices or journeypersons and members of the public.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #6
6.
Contravening a term, condition or limitation imposed on the member’s certificate of
qualification or statement of membership.
Q: What does this act mean?
Members of the College must follow and respect any terms, conditions and limitations imposed by the
College on their certificates of qualification or statements of membership. A member of the College is
responsible for ensuring that any work they do or any interactions they are part of do not go against
what they are permitted to do by the College.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College will be able to impose terms, conditions and limitations on a member’s certificate of
qualification or statement of membership to protect the public. The College is proposing to define this
act as professional misconduct to help ensure that its members follow and respect these terms,
conditions and limitations when they practice their trade(s).
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #7
7.
Permitting, counselling or assisting any person who is not a member of the College to
represent himself or herself as a member of the College.
Q: What does this act mean?
A member may not allow, encourage or help any person who is not a registered member of the College
to hold him or herself out as a member of the College.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to prevent
members of the College from allowing, encouraging or helping non-members to call themselves
members of the College when they are not in fact members. Membership in the College adds status
and legitimacy to the trades in Ontario. If a member of the public hears that an individual is a member
of the College, he or she will assume that that is true, that the individual is qualified/licensed, and that
the work will be done legally by a person with the necessary qualifications. This act needs to be
included in the definition of professional misconduct to ensure that members of the College do not
help non-members mislead the public because doing so may result in unqualified or unsafe work, and
damage the reputation of the College and the trades.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #8
8.
Using a name other than the member’s name as set out in the register, in the course
of his or her practice of a trade, or in the course of employment or sponsorship of a member.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: When practicing his or her trade or sponsoring an apprentice, a member of the College must use the
name he or she used to get registered with the College, which is the name that appears on the public
register.
The public register is a database that will be available to the public on the College’s website and that
will include, for example:
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
the name of each member of the College,
whether the member has a certificate of qualification or a statement of membership and for
which trade(s),
the class(es) of membership to which the member belongs,
any terms, conditions and limitations to which the member is subject, and
every revocation, cancellation and suspension of the member’s certificate of qualification or
statement of membership (see section 42 of OCTAA and section 23 of the College’s By-Laws).
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: Members of the public have a right to know with whom they are dealing. It is important for the
public to be able to verify, through the public registry, the membership status of individuals holding
themselves out as members of the College and see if they are ‘members in good standing’ of the
College. This is only possible if the name given out by the member is the same name that appears on
the public register. If a member of the College uses another name in dealing with the public, a client
may not be able to find out the class of membership and trade in which the member is qualified, or if
the member is in good standing with the College (for example, a member’s certificate of qualification
or statement of membership may be revoked by the College if the member has been found guilty of
professional misconduct). It is also important that the College be able to identify a member if a
complaint or report is made to the College.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #9
9.
Signing or issuing, in the member’s capacity as a member of the College, a document
that the member knows, or ought to have known, contains a false, improper or misleading
statement.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: In practicing his or her trade, a member of the College will only sign, prepare or send out
documents that contain true and correct information. If the member knows (or should have known)
that the document contains false, improper or misleading information, then the member should not
have signed it, prepared it or sent it out.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to ensure that
members of the College are truthful and accurate when they sign off on work that has been done or
supervised, or when they say that the work they performed meets particular standards or
specifications. This obligation also extends to contracts or documents stating that training has been
properly completed, work has been properly done, and materials agreed upon have actually been
used.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #10
10.
Contravening a law if the contravention is relevant to the member’s suitability to
hold a certificate of qualification or statement of membership.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: If a member is convicted in court for an offence that is related to his or her trade (for example, a
conviction for unsafe work practices causing injury or death of another person), the member may not
be suitable anymore to hold a certificate of qualification or a statement of membership with the
College.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: Members of the College are subject to OCTAA, its regulations and by-laws, and any other laws that
affect their occupation. They should be familiar with these rules and comply with them. The College
has a responsibility to ensure that its members have not been convicted of offences that may put the
public in danger.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #11
11.
Failing to maintain the standards that a reasonable member would maintain in the
circumstances.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: Members of the College are expected to practice their trade(s) in accordance with the standards
that any reasonable member would maintain in a similar situation.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: Professional standards can be written or unwritten. When a standard is unwritten, there is a
shared understanding of how a reasonable member would act in certain situations. Members are
expected to learn, through training and experience, the basic principles of practicing the trade safely
and effectively.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #12
12.
Conduct or an act or omission that, having regard to all the circumstances, would
reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: By defining this act as professional misconduct, the College would be prohibiting conduct, including
an ‘act’ (action) or an ‘omission’ (lack of action), which reasonable members of the College would
consider unacceptable because it is disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to cover a wide
range of conducts in which a member of the College could engage when practicing a trade and which
reasonable members of the College would agree are unacceptable or would damage the reputation of
the trade(s).
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #13
13.
Conduct unbecoming a member.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: A member of the College should not behave in a way that reflects poorly on his or her integrity (for
example, being dishonest or breaching trust).
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to cover a wide
range of conducts in which a member of the College could engage (including conduct outside the
practice of a trade) and which reasonable members of the College would agree are unacceptable or
would damage the reputation of the trade(s).
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #14
14.
Practising a trade while the member is in a conflict of interest.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: Members of the College should not practice their trade(s) if they are in a position where their
personal interests could influence or could be contrary to the professional duties they have toward
their clients.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to help prevent
conflicts of interest. There is a conflict of interest when a member’s own interest is contrary to the
interest of his or her client. In order to prevent members of the College from putting their own
interests first, the College would prohibit the member from practicing a trade in situations in which a
conflict of interest exists.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #15
15. Misappropriating or otherwise dealing dishonestly with a client’s or a third party’s money
or property, or otherwise engaging in fraudulent conduct.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: Defrauding or stealing from a client or third party is prohibited and is considered professional
misconduct even if there is no criminal conviction.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: The College is proposing this act under the definition of professional misconduct to address
dishonest conduct involving a client’s or a third party’s money or property. Examples of this act
include: defrauding clients through billing them for false charges, stealing from a client directly (for
example, stealing from a worksite), or defrauding an employer by submitting false time sheets.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Act #16
16. Permitting, counselling, assisting, instructing or directing a member of the College to
engage in any act defined as professional misconduct.
Q: What does this act mean?
A: A member of the College should not encourage, assist or order other members of the College to
engage in professional misconduct.
Q: Why is this act being proposed under the definition of professional misconduct?
A: Members of the College should be the first ones to ensure that they and their fellow members
follow the highest ethical and practice standards. Encouraging others to breach this regulation and/or
OCTAA is just as bad as doing it yourself. Because it includes conducts that could take place either
within or outside an employment relationship (between an employer and an employee) or a
sponsorship relationship (between a sponsor and an apprentice), this act is broad enough to cover all
members of the College (including apprentices, journeypersons, employers and sponsors).
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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Proposed Regulation: Professional Misconduct –Findings in Other Jurisdictions
Section 2. A finding of incompetence, professional misconduct or a similar finding against a member
by a regulatory authority or a professional association or other body that has self-regulatory
responsibility for the trades in a jurisdiction other than Ontario that is based on facts that would, in
the opinion of the Discipline Committee, constitute professional misconduct as defined in section 1,
is defined as professional misconduct for the purposes of subsection 46(2)(c) of the Act.
Q: What does this provision mean?
A: The College’s Discipline Committee may consider a finding of professional misconduct or
incompetence made by another self-regulatory body or by a government body outside Ontario to be
equivalent to professional misconduct under this proposed regulation.
Q: Why is this provision being proposed?
A: Some members of the College are or have been regulated by another self-regulatory body or by a
government body outside Ontario. If an out-of-province body has found a member of the College guilty
of professional misconduct or incompetence, the College may consider that the member’s actions in
the other jurisdiction also qualify as professional misconduct in Ontario if those actions fit one or more
of the acts defined as professional misconduct in the proposed regulation.
Please provide comments below, if any:
(maximum 250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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General Response and Comments:
Are there any other acts or types of conduct that you think the College should include in the
professional misconduct regulation?
Please provide additional comments below, if any:
(maximum 500 words – only the first 500 words of this entry will be considered)
Click here to enter text
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We thank you for your feedback on the proposed Board Regulations
Please submit this form:
1.
As an attachment to an email to: consultations@collegeoftrades.ca
OR
2.
By postal mail to:
Attn: Regulation Consultation, Ontario College of Trades
655 Bay Street, Suite 600
Toronto, ON M5G 2K4
OR
3.
By fax to: 1-866-398-0368
If you have any questions or experience any technical difficulties, please contact us at
consultations@collegeoftrades.ca or call 647-847-3000 or toll free at 1-855-299-0028.
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What happens next?
An email will be sent to all stakeholders in the College's database when the official regulations are
posted to Ontario's e-Laws (www.e-laws.gov.on.ca) and the College's (www.collegeoftrades.ca)
websites. If you would like to be added to the College's database, please contact
info@collegeoftrades.ca with your request to receive email updates. It is anticipated that this
regulation will be finalized and posted to e-Laws in the winter of 2012/13.
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